At the same time in 1789 that mobs stormed the Bastille, some aristocratic woman was giving birth. When the Romanov family was executed in 1918, surely many young Russian couples were immersed in plans for their weddings. Other Moscow families were immersed in grief, mourning the loss of a family member. While Nazi troops were preparing to pour into Poland in the fall of 1939, Jewish families were preparing for the Fall holy days, just as I am today. Momentous occasions occur in the middle of everyday life.
I have written very little on the upcoming American election. Looking back to 2015 and 2016, I shared a great deal of my thinking and feelings about first the primaries and then the choice between Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. In those Musings, at first, I reluctantly and then enthusiastically, championed Mr. Trump, despite describing him in various posts as, “a braggart and possessor of other poor character traits,” “[sounding] like a bigoted, racist cad,” and a “a ten-year-old schoolboy”. (Even though I wrote that I didn’t think he actually was bigoted or racist any more than he was ten years old). I labeled him as “self-adulating” a term I also applied to Barack Obama.
By 2020, there was no question in my mind that President Trump had proven himself to be a better president than I had anticipated and that he should be re-elected. This year, I have no doubt about who should get my vote. Donald Trump is egotistical and prone to speaking bombastically and foolishly. That is irrelevant. Not because Kamala Harris has trouble composing an English sentence, but because what matters is who will be advising each of these individuals should they be elected and the groups with which they will affiliate.
We do not know for how long President Biden has been incapable of governing. Those around him, including Vice-president Harris and the general media, are responsible for covering up his mental decline. Whether this cover-up occurred because of greed, clinging to power, ideological reasons, or cowardice, it happened. It continues to happen. Partially because of this deception, Americans, including soldiers, have died and will die, and life for Americans has become more expensive and less safe. This cover-up make Watergate look like child’s play. We have no idea who is acting as Commander-in-Chief. What we can surmise by looking at those who approve of and surround Vice-president Harris is that things will continue to get worse under her, not better. While Donald Trump does associate with some unsavory characters, most of the people upon whom he would rely for advice and support share my vision for this country.
There is no comparison between the fine judges who served at the opening of the book of Judges and the judges who ended that epoch. There was no comparison between the early judges and Moses and Joshua. Certainly, Israelites wept when they thought of the decline in leadership. Nonetheless, the latter judges, like Samson, were all that was available, and they were far better than the alternatives. Such is our circumstance today. Not voting for Donald Trump because he is not Ronald Reagan makes no sense to me. Voting for Kamala Harris because of Trump’s failings makes even less.
A conundrum of life is that the richer and fuller one’s personal life is, the less time one has for politics. No spouse or children, no job, no friends? You can go to as many rallies as you wish and spend your day on social media. Yet, as we can and must attend to our own 5Fs, our lives may be improved or shattered by historical events. Standing idly by is not an option.
Past Election Musings
NO TRUMP; NO TRUMP APOLOGIES July 15, 2015
INSIDE OUTSIDE (THE ELECTION – NOT THE MOVIE) January 27, 2016
VULGAR, LEWD AND GETTING MY VOTE October 13, 2016
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